Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 72.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,986 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,993 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after buying an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after acquiring an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after acquiring an additional 124,464 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE HSY opened at $182.20 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $177.67 and a 200-day moving average of $196.10. The firm has a market cap of $36.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.